


Unwarranted Escalation of Needless Confusion

by zovinar



Category: Batman (Comics), DCU (Comics)
Genre: Chaos, Confusion, Crack, Crossover, Dimension Travel, Ensemble Cast, Gen, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Humor, PLEASE for the love of god read the source material first, batfam, fic of a fic, not 2 ask u guys to read 50k first but p l e a s e, pls guys im begging, sibling rivalry for fun and profit, the Whole Nine Yards
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-16
Updated: 2019-05-16
Packaged: 2020-03-06 12:45:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18851347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zovinar/pseuds/zovinar
Summary: Unwarranted Escalation of Needless Confusion and Excessive Violenceover titles, symbolism, and bullshit involving one(1)alternate universe, one(1)otheralternate universe, two(2)wrongly labeled assassins, twenty(20)seriously confused capes, three(3)shots of whiskey, and a left turn(↰)somewhere down the rabbit hole.ie. the fic were Roy goes “…?” Diana is very “!@#?*&!??!!!” and Cassie spends the entire time going “?? ???? ???? ??? ??”on the other hand, Tim is Stressed™, Damian is #done, and Dick’s just sorta winging it.





	Unwarranted Escalation of Needless Confusion

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Bat's Crest](https://archiveofourown.org/works/7937086) by [livierambles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/livierambles/pseuds/livierambles). 



> really heavily based on livierambles’s work, I legit bust down a wall kool-aid man style to set up shop around the end of chapter 12 (trial by combat) so if you haven’t read that, what are you even doing here? get lost! and by lost I mean go and read that first because here be spoilers and zerø context. also, you’re here in the first place so I _know_ you’ll like it— **seriously: go read that one first**.
> 
> still, if you are coming from “The Bat’s Crest” (and you probably are) this is basically me having fun with some hilarious chaos and all the people from universe two being _extra_ confused. you’ll need to be through chapter 17 for a major spoiler-free experience (like MAJOR major spoilers, just don’t ok??). things…don’t exactly line up? but uhhhh roll with it guys. most serious shift is in the batfam dynamics, they’re a lot more amiable and fun here. it’s a big detraction to livie’s incredibly nuanced and poignant examinations of the characters, but I’m utterly incapable of writing anything serious for any extended period of time so you’ll just have to make do, sorry.
> 
> disclaimer: no whiskey was harmed in this trainwreck of a fic.

_(…Dick is…cold._

_He’s also definitely not where he was before—he’d been in the Bunker but even the_ Cave _never gets this chilly._

_Frost clings to his lashes as he blinks open his eyes and…_

_Huh._

_Well then._

_He should probably find the rest of his family)_

 

* * *

 

When Roy had shadowed Young Justice down to the detention cells instead of following after the others, it had been on a hunch really.

But, seeing Tim squaring off against Wonder Girl after trouncing the rest of the team…

And the look of Cassie’s face—Roy’s almost worried about a copy of what’s happening in the main hall, half expecting her to enact justice just as Diana has decided to—as Cassie’s eyes catch on Zach’s slumping form.

He’s not expecting one of the heavy ceiling tiles to almost hit her as it crashes down. Or the grate that follows. He _definitely_ isn’t expecting fucking _Leviathan_ to tumble down after them to land in an artful crouch.

“Hurry up, Drake.”

“What?” Tim gapes. Roy agrees―what? Isn’t that kid supposed to be dead? Isn’t Tim supposed to’ve _killed_ him?

But no, the kid just unfolds to stand, casually sheathing his sword with a delicate, almost derisive flick of his wrist before ignoring the rest of them to give Tim a dry look. “Grandfather found out.”

“Oh shit. How are you not already dead?”

“Luck and sentiment. While Grandfather is more than eager to tear my head from my shoulders, Mother is more sworn to divest you of yours for your _excessive_ trickery.”

“Oh my god.”

“Be proud Drake, she was almost impressed.”

It’s the undertone of mockery in Leviathan’s voice that finally seems to snap Cassie out of her stupor. “What is going on,” she growls, taking a menacing step towards Leviathan.

A mistake, apparently, because Tim steps in, grabbing one end of her lasso and when she turns back to him, Leviathan drops, sweeping out a leg and tugging…then Cassie’s on the floor with her lasso locking her arms to together from elbow to wrist.

Roy’s never seen Tim work that seamless and instinctively with anyone, let alone someone he’s still staring at like he’s not sure he’s entirely real and, by the way, tried to _kill_ him. Multiple times.

To be fair, Roy isn’t quite sure about that ‘alive’ thing yet either. Seriously: what??

“Wait wait wait,” Tim shakes himself out, ignoring Cassie’s enraged snarl and returning to the issue at hand, “he’s here, you lead him _here?”_

Leviathan rolls his eyes, “I’m not that useless, I know how to compensate for my failures. They’re busy murdering each other in the most dramatic way possible, as per usual―Mother was quite displeased with Grandfather’s insinuations.”

“Okay, but if the League of Assassins is tied up, what—”

“That wouldn’t stop him from contracting the Council of Spiders.”

“Shi— Damian! How did they even get up here!?”

“They _didn’t_ , do you truly believe I’d be incompetent enough let them through the zeta? They’re stuck back at the Hall of Justice like the fools they are; making a nuisance of themselves, as per usual.”

“I can’t believe you thought that a good way to improvise is to let a group of _mercenary assassins_ tag along on a rescue mission.”

“I can’t believe you think the additional chaos would be anything but helpful.” Leviathan flicks his fingers in a half shrug, “besides, we both know the Council of Spiders is borderline incompetent.”

Tim looks like someone hit him the face with a brick. “Fuck.”

“Agreed.” Leviathan kicks the grate away from himself before sending them all a belabored look. “Now may we go? The heroes may be occupied by the bulk of the Council for now, but that doesn’t mean we should pass up the opportunity at hand.” His eyes narrow, “if we dawdle and the League becomes involved…”

_“Fuck.”_

“Yes, I am well aware of your abilities of redundancy. _Assassins_ , Drake, can we get a move on before some hapless moron gets gutted by those third-rate fools?”

“Wait,” gasps Kon from the floor, “wait, you want to save them?”

Leviathan just gives him a pitying look. “If you had even a modicum of understanding of what’s going on here, I would be surprised. If I had actually _wanted_ to kill any of you, I would have succeeded well before now.”

“He—he’s right Kon, sorry.” Tim looks genuinely apologetic over having to side with the tiny murder-child over his friend and Leviathan sends him this half pissed, half expectant look over it.

“Tim—”

 _“Red Robin,”_ Leviathan interrupts with level authority, “enough. We need to move.”

Tim curses under his breath, turning to grab the bo staff (but not his bow even though it’s _right there_ and the sight is like an itch under Roy’s skin) then back to follow after the kid. But before he and Leviathan have a chance to scamper off, Roy steps out of the shadows and catches Tim’s arm because, because…

“Roy?”

Nightwing had said to trust Tim, that he was no traitor—and Roy _does_ trust Tim. Even if he’s been off for a few weeks, he’s still Roy’s little brother.

Of course, right after that Nightwing had paused to give them all a look and said, “don’t freak out,” before pulling out vaguely familiar body armor and Roy’d put two and two together to get _assassin_ but…

It’s _Tim_.

“I’ll take care of this, kid.”

Tim gives him a grateful smile and Roy lets him go.

 

* * *

 

Diana had heard the report, heard some of the others depart to subdue the assassins—of all things—that had taken the Hall of Justice. Heard more of their allies come to the trial.

Heard the clash of a familiar sword against hers.

She had looked up to see Donna—Troia, her sister in arms.

Donna had freed the girl and her companion.

Donna had let them help Wayne away.

Victor, Wally, Roy, her own comrades. They had stopped her blade. They had taken Wayne.

Tim had seemed to realize what was happening at once and, as soon as Starfire had released him, taken down Ollie almost immediately, kicking his mentor’s feet out from under him before yanking away Ollie’s communicator then vanishing, unseen and unaccounted for.

Still, she can’t stop herself from casting an askance look back where he had been, can’t help the surge of bitter regret as she turns and…and then she sees—

“Leviathan,” Diana growls.

He pulls back from defending Wayne’s escape, face carefully blank despite the ire she can see lurking in his eyes. “Prince,” he pulls up his sword, falling into a ready stance, “it seems you aren’t done harassing my family quite yet.”

And she can only meet him with her blade—because she doesn’t understand that, can’t make time to understand it, can only stare at the boy confronting her who is _not dead_ —because her son isn’t a killer, thank the gods, but what does this make him?

A traitor?

No, she cannot—  

“Eyes up _here_ , Prince.”

He’s _goading_ her, but why? His mode of engagement with Young Justice has always been with slyness and trickery. More than once has she heard them rage over cornering the boy at last before having him all but vanish; not much of a surprise, the League of Assassins has been long since whispered of as the Shadows themselves.

Yet this differs. He is being brash and attention grabbing, neigh unignorable, contrary to all of what she knows of his own training and discipline. His blade dances with a skill she thought beyond him, an eye catching and showy display, but his sword still sings _deceit, deceit, deceit_.

“Perhaps I should have not thought you dishonorable enough to attack a man in his own bed, but I have my doubts that it would have been the worst of your actions.”

He laughs in her face and she feels fury lick her bones once more. “Still, Diana of Themyscira, I have yet to compromise my beliefs.”

She almost flinches, thinking of her rage, of _Wayne,_ she does not _understand_ the boy’s words, but— “And yet, you have killed many.”

“Please, you of all people would understand the restraint I have exercised in recent times.” He sweeps up a booted foot and uses the metal plates sewn into it to knock her sword aside, following the motion to draw his blade up and across to deliver a slice to her underarm—and it _burns,_ somehow he’d gotten his hands on the blade she had provided Wayne for the duel, how—?

“What have you done to my _son_ ,” she can’t help but snarl.

Leviathan’s answer is infuriating and his polite look of disdain more so. “Nothing he hasn’t already done to himself.”

Diana has no answer for that but her blade.

Even as they fight, even through her anger, she can’t help but gain a grudging regard for his skills. Just as Wayne did, he uses every advantage he has at his disposal, from their differing forms with their blades to the wounds Wayne had left on her. They both know she could destroy him in a trifle if she unleashed the strength she buries when fighting mortals, but he makes use of that and her unwillingness to truly fight a child, using his small stature (one that against which she is greatly unused to fighting) against her. Even his unusual and unfamiliar style of swordplay is used to guide the fight, turning her so her back is to the rest of the room.

When Leviathan’s hand flashes out, she catches the knife aimed at her throat with ease, but that moment is enough for him to seize another and loose it behind himself, where it scores a streak of crimson across Hal’s cheek with uncanny precision. Not as close to the eye as to be a true threat, but enough to allow his constructs to shatter under a furious barrage of starbolts.

And then she hears a shriek at her back, a commotion, an aborted yell, and she can’t look away, can’t abandon _this_ fight, especially after being interrupted with Wayne, but the boy can, _he_ can cast an eye over her shoulder at the scene—  

 _“No,”_ breathes Leviathan and for the first time Diana sees fear in his eyes.

She chances a look herself and feels her heart freeze.

Her sword wavers, worry about Wayne fleeing her mind because there among her friends and comrades, among the _children,_ is one of the most dangerous and notorious assassins on Earth.

Diana immediately steps in front of the boy, in between him and the _threat,_ because Leviathan might be an enemy, a killer, but he is also a _child._

No matter her ire, she has no intention of letting a _Talon_ take his life.

But Leviathan refuses to to be herded back. “No!” he snarls, tossing away his blade as he darts towards the Talon, ducking under Diana’s arm and around Shayera and Starfire’s fight, jumping lightly over Hal’s prone form. He throws himself at the Talon, whose hands snap out, reaching towards the child, wrapping an arm around his neck to…

Pull him into a tight embrace.  

And then Leviathan begins to speak to the Talon, looking almost comforted by the presence of one of the most formidable foes of the League of Assassins. His words are hushed and, through the chaos, Diana is sure she is the only one who hears him.

“Gray Son, you _idiot_.”

Her breath catches. Not a Talon, _The_ Talon: the Gray Son of Gotham himself, what in Hera’s name…

But, when the man turns—he has the garb of a Talon yes, but with the bandolier slung around his waist instead to make room for a bright spill of vibrant blue on his chest in the shape of a bird’s spread wings that traces down his arms. It does not look like a guise of death, it almost looks…bright. Almost hopeful. It’s baffling.

Leviathan doesn’t stop berating him, “you _damn fool_ ,” he hisses, clawing at the fabric that surrounds Talon’s face, tugging it down to reveal, not goggles, but warm eyes and a gentle smile, smokey makeup shrouding his amber eyes in a way that almost alludes to a mask.

The Gray Son of Gotham, probably one of the most deadly killers known and certainly the coldest, presses a quick kiss to Damian al Ghul’s forehead with a rueful grin. “Sorry Dami,” Diana can just make out as he tugs the child closer, “sorry kid, I missed you too.”

“You came for—?”

“Bruce, duh.”

“You brought the Titans, of course.”

From over the Talon’s shoulder, Diana sees Tim edging into the embroiled chaos of the room, the out-of-place staff he wields handled expertly in no style that she recognizes.

Catching sight of the new figure in the room, Tim freezes, gaping at him, staring at the Talon’s back.

“Di—?”

Both Leviathan and Talon’s heads snap around at the sound of his voice. “Nightwing,” Talon corrects almost reflexively, but when the man fully turns, Tim’s reaction to him is no less extreme than that of Leviathan’s. He gags, dry heaving with a look of disgust and regret so visceral it nearly makes her ill as well.

“Fuck, oh _fuck_ , Nightwing—shit!”  

“Drake, have your breakdown later!” Leviathan snarls as both he and the Talon seem to flicker to Tim’s side.

Suddenly, Talon—Nightwing, Tim had called him, _Nightwing_ —meets her eyes for a moment. And, for that moment, his face is a mirror of her own: resolve, calculation, a righteous protectiveness that burns ever brighter. Then, lightning quick, he hurls a small capsule into the center of the room, almost directly at Diana.

A capsule with a blinking light.

One that beeps

beeps

_beeps—_

Her eyes widen as she instantly catalogs the device, reaching forward instinctively, hoping to be able to reduce the blast field even as she tries to call a warning to the rest of the room.

“Bom—!!”

All the alarms on the Watchtower go off in an explosion of sound. Every single alert, security measure, klaxon, siren, and alarm starts to blare all at once, creating a cacophony that not even Superman would be able to hear through. The sudden assault of sound nearly brings Diana to her knees and she can see it’s effect on other Leaguers as well.

Then the capsule implodes a hair’s breadth out of reach from Diana’s fingers, thick, opaque white smoke filling the room.

Through the obscuring gas and her own deafness, she fights her way across the room, disorientated, only realizing that she’s calling for Tim when she sees her own hands reaching out again, unbidden.

But Diana already know what she will find.

When the smoke finally beings to clear, when she finally reaches the spot she last saw her son standing alongside two _assassins_ …

They have gone.

 

* * *

 

Mr. Miracle had just been getting to the last couple of knots when all the Watchtower alarms went defcon and Cassie’d had one serious premonition of doom.

Zach’s just barely getting around to waking back up, Kon’s still shaking off the kryptonite sickness, Bart’s still out cold, and…

She’d had her wrists tied back together with her lasso. By _Roy_. Cassie can’t help but shake with the indignity of it all, because Roy had come back in, disabled the cameras and alarms, then opened the door to Tim, Leviathan, and…

And a Talon.

A Talon who’d bounced in with a smile and a wave.

“Thanks, Roy.”

“Sure…” says Roy back as he watches Leviathan with a skeptical look. “Is it safe to have him here?”

“Who, Damian?” laughs the Talon. He reaches out towards Leviathan who bats away his hand without turning from Tim. “Nah, Dami’s safe as shit.”

Leviathan narrows his eyes at Tim’s super transparent ‘yeah right,’ look before shooting a half hearted glare at Talon. “Bold of you to slander me like that.”

“It doesn’t count as slander if your reputation is as fucked over as yours—hey!” Tim hisses as Leviathan kicks him in the shin.

Leviathan huffs and turns back to Talon. “Status?”

“Hm…” Talon tugs off a clawed gauntlet with his teeth before fishing out a some kind of phone and checking the screen. “Yeah, gonna sit for a bit,” he says, tucking the device away.

“The sensors are scrambled and we knocked out the zetas for now,” Tim grumbles, back to tapping away at his own device in his hands, “we just need to wait for Steph to give us the all-clear when Bruce is safe.”

Roy tilts his head at the Talon, “Nightwing?”

“Yep, the League is tied up between going after Bruce and dealing with the rest of the Council of Spiders—good job there, Robin,” he smiles at Leviathan, who ducks his head. “They’re probably trying to sweep for us at the same time, but we have enough dummies in the system that it’ll take a bit.”

Leviathan folds down to sit, crossing his legs with his sword lying across his knees. “If we do remain here for now, they won’t even be certain that Father has even left the Watchtower.”

“Yeah, uh—hold up,” Tim mutters under his breath distractedly, “I wanna ping the zeta hub, back in a sec.”

Cassie can feel herself tense up as Talon reaches out, but he just tugs a lock of Tim’s hair, earning himself a lightning-quick smile. “Sure thing, Timmy.”

“So…” Roy tips his head to watch uneasily as Tim leaves. “We’re just sitting here?” Cassie gives him a nasty look when he chances a glance at her and he frowns, shifting.

“Eh,” Talon just spins the baton he’s been holding and hops up onto a table with a shrug, “you know how it is,” he says. “Hurry up and wait and all that.”

Leviathan frowns at the stick-thing as Talon clips it into the holster on his back next to another.

“Where on earth did you find those? You can’t have had enough time to have them made.”

“Already had ‘em. Apparently, an old fashioned beat down is still a perfectly valid show of force and these were his non-lethal weapon of choice.” Talon gives him a look somewhere between sly and smug as he leans back, swinging his legs. “Some things never change, yeah?”

“-tt-” Leviathan huffs. “All Drake had was a _bow,_ tried to hit me with a pipe when we first fought—it was embarrassing.”

“Oh man, pics or that _so_ didn’t happen,” Talon says with a shit eating grin, then laughs as Leviathan rolls his eyes. “Pfft, yeah okay. You kitted out alright though? I’ve got extra throwing knives if you need them, but…”

“There were some cashes where I could access some shuriken and such; I’ve passed a number on to Drake. Still, I’ve found them…lacking.”

“Yeah,” Talon laughs, “once you go bat, you never go bac—”

“Stop. Just…stop.”

“Aw c’mon, I know you’re missing batarangs as much as I am.” He nudges Leviathan in the side with a playful foot. “Anyway,” Talon starts as he slides off of the table, landing perfectly balanced on the balls of his feet and crouching down as well, “I know that’s the least of the issues you’ve been dealing with, kid.”

Leviathan flinches at that, chin dipping down and hands twitching before he looks away sharply.

With a crooked smile, Talon tugs the weird shawl from where it’s wrapped around his neck, settling the cloth around the boy’s shoulders instead, flicking his wrists in a practiced motion to make a hood-like shape with the fabric. “Better?” he asks with a playful grin.

Leviathan says nothing at that, just flips the hood up, casting his face into shadow.

Talon looks pleased nonetheless, one hand resting affectionately on Leviathan’s head before he rocks back on the balls of his feet. “I saw your dust up before I dropped in, did Diana get you anywhere?”

Leviathan fought Diana? No way, Cassie’s fought against this kid before, no way he’s on that level—

“I’m well enough. She was still quite unsettled by Troy’s interference and her and Father’s,” he waves a hand and shrugs, “ _bout_ , as well as my…presence among the living, I suppose.”

—He fought Diana and didn’t get demolished? Holy shit, _how????_

“Besides, the encounter was rather brief, all said. And you?” When the Talon just shrugs, Leviathan’s look flattens out, “Nightwing.”

Talon—Nightwing? Gives him a crooked half-smile, gesturing at his complexion. “Nothing that stuck.”

All of a sudden, such an icy _fury_ snaps over Leviathan’s face that Cassie jerks back as he bares his teeth a snarl. “I swear I’m going to _tear apart_ that _God forsaken_ pathetic _shit_ of a cult brick by _brick_ when we return to Gotham.”

“Aw, Dami.”

“ _Nightwing_ ,” the kid growls back.

“Hey, I’ve been here for weeks, I’ve had more than enough time to dismantle most of the Court’s power and influence.”

Cassie gapes at him.

“Wait, seriously?” Roy looks just as surprised as Cassie is. What the fuck?

Nightwing laughs. “Yeah, I was super bored.”

On the other hand, Leviathan still looks curious, but not like he thinks a Talon, y’know, taking down the Court of Owls is anything especially unexpected—ie. _exactly what it is._ “Their financial base as well?”

“Yep, dropped off the keys to the candy store with Selena too, she’s probably done robbing them all blind by now,” he says completely casually and with a satisfied grin and totally disregarding the fact that _no one is supposed to know about Catwoman’s true allegiance_ —Nightwing seems to have taken it for _granted_ that she would help! Cassie now understands nothing.

“How did you get into contact without giving her an aneurysm?”

“…I might’ve kinda broken into her apartment to leave cryptic messages until she decided to meet up in person. Giving her the codes for every single one of the Elliot family’s holdings and accounts really did earn me some points, though.”

Leviathan gives him an arch look. “You let her punch you in the face, didn’t you.”

“Right in the moneymaker,” Nightwing admits mournfully. He flutters his lashes at the kid in affected distress, “thought Sel’d at least respect me enough in the morning to—”

“Stop,” Leviathan says again, a hand coming up to cover his eyes. “The massacre?” he asks, sounding much more serious than what Cassie would’ve expected.

But Nightwing just shakes his head. “I’m pretty sure local B was only in it to make introductions and grease the wheels. Most of the Court was in shambles by the time things went down and…well. We both know this isn’t their kind of game to begin with.”

“For a public play, no one would know except the ones that the message was meant for,” Leviathan agrees, “and this is far too sloppy for their type of hardline information control.”

“Not that it really matters because all of them are broookeee!!” Nightwing cheers, throwing up his arms. “Or in jail. Or tied up with a million lawsuits—or broke and in jail _and_ tied up with a million lawsuits.” Then he uses his momentum to roll back, plant his hands, press up, and flip to his feet in a move that is so impossibly fluid and seamlessly perfect that Cassie hates him even more on reflex. Heathen. Leviathan’s head tips to the side, shadows from the hood masking what might be amusement as Nightwing taps a finger on the kid’s forehead. “The Soldier and co have been bu _sy._ ”

“Are they…?”

“Don’t think so,” Nightwing hums. “But, y’know, _Gotham_. Setting up the busts were a lot easier with some familiar faces.”

“Tch, at least something in the city hasn’t gone to shit with incompetence.”

Nightwing sighs, misty eyed. “Almost reminds me of the good ‘ol days. So…you? What’cha’ been up to, lil’ robin.”

“I,” drawls Leviathan, “have been doing an admiral job of not killing the ‘not’ Teen Titans, despite their own best efforts.”

“Young Justice,” Nightwing corrects before giving the rest of the team an apologetic look. “Sorry guys, I heard about Eddie, but Robin goes real hard for authenticity.”

“It was convincing enough that I’m not dead,” Leviathan says flatly. Then his chin tips as one shoulder comes up in a subtle shrug. “He’ll recover, even if their egos don’t.”

“Obnoxious little _shit,”_ Cassie snaps, forgetting to not remind their captors that she isn’t unconscious or gagged. _Stealth!_ hisses a corner of her brain and she can feel her teeth ache with how fast her jaw snaps shut.

( _Stealth,_ it reminds her, and _wait for an opening!_ and _gather intelligence_ —and Cassie tries to ignore how the voice sounds so much like Tim)

But the two assassins don’t seem surprised at that, Nightwing just gives Leviathan this proud smile. “Deliberate little shit?”

Leviathan settles back, looking very self-satisfied. “I had an adequate source to draw from and have seen how to move pieces that way just as well.”

“Damian!” Nightwing gasps with horror, a hand on his heart. “Are you calling me _annoying?”_

 _“Yes,_ ” Leviathan hisses back with gleeful malice. “Besides, haven’t you been using your current inherent levels of pants-wettingly terrifying on people?”

“Um, excuse you, I’ve gotta get some perks from being functionally dead. Do you know how cold I get now? I’m freezing, like, all the time—in fact, I am demanding batfamily body warmth, right now: Dami, come give me a hug.”

His grumble looks more practiced than anything else, but without any more compliant than that, Leviathan— _Leviathan—_ allows himself to be tugged over, clambering into the man’s lap and _letting_ Nightwing wrap arms around his shoulders. He looks like he’s getting smothered by an especially clingy octopus, it’s _surreal._

(He's letting a _Talon_ have a hold around his _neck_ and that alone is like an icy sliver of awareness shoved into her gut. She might not like the kid, but Cassie’s seen what people like _that_ can do with this kind of leverage)

If there’s any consoling factor, it’s that Roy is watching this with the same bewildered look as her own.

“Why are we giving Nightwing hugs?” Tim asks as he ducks back into the room, soundless.

“Batcuddles,” corrects Nightwing, “and it’s ‘cause I’m cold as _shit._ ”

Tim shuffles back almost immediately, but Nightwing’s hand flashes out and he grabs Tim’s wrist with a teasing grin. “Gimme a hug, Timmy.”

“Stop being a dick, Nightwing.”

Leviathan, still tucked up against Nightwing, snorts at what is apparently a joke no one else gets.

“Oh god, your fingers are freezing why are you the worst.”

“Fuck you Drake, my Batman is the _best_ Batman.”

“Enforced hug time is enforced _fun_ time.”

Something about all this talk about bats sits with her oddly, but it’s nothing on Zack, who goes absolutely dead still at the mention of them.

Roy tips his head to to side. “Uh, guys? I think Zack wants to say something.”

The way the three of them snap their attention onto Zack is _creepy_. None of the ways they move are especially similar, Nightwing is all grand, showy motions while Tim is perfectly controlled and Leviathan’s movements are sharp and deliberate, but in that moment the gesture looks the same on all of them. Cassie shivers.

Zack in turn does his best to indicate that, yes, he would indeed like to talk.

“Man…” Nightwing almost whines, “it had to be the one we can’t let talk.”

Leviathan huffs, “and the fool probably knows no nonverbal forms of communication.”

“Morse?” asks Tim.

“Yeah _right_.”

“I take it you actually have some sort of expectation that teen heros have to know multiple levels of communication?” Roy drawls pointedly.

Nightwing just sniffs, chin up as he crosses his arms in mock affront. “Hey, I’ll have you know that I had all my Titans learn hand sign.”

“Jericho was on your team, everyone had to know ASL _anyway,_ ” Tim grumbles under his breath while Leviathan pointedly rolls his eyes then pauses, looking contemplative.

“Compressing the larynx will inhibit speech.”

Tim looks pained. “That sounds so dumb, what the hell.”

“It’s good enough, let’s not waste time being finicky,” Nightwing seems to decide.

“What—? _Nightwing_.”

“But Timmy, the suspense is _killing_ me,” Nightwing sighs with a swoon, earning a punch in the arm from Leviathan. He ignores a strangled sound from Tim as he turns to Zach and puts a (completely not!) comforting hand on his shoulder. “I’m gonna block off your voice and you can just mouth the words, okay?” The Talon chuckles at Cassie’s glare, “and you can nod to tell the pretty lady you can still breathe.”

“And none of you are caring paper?” Roy sounds disbelieving, which is the absolute correct response to what Cassie thinks is about to happen.

“I am,” says Leviathan mockingly, “besides, unless you want him to write in his own bodily fluids, you’re out of luck.”

“No room for a pen in your pockets?” Tim snipes.

“I’m not sure if you noticed my lack of a proper utility belt, but _I_ certainly have.”

“Why do you have paper and not a pen?” asks Roy.

“I mark in _code_ , imbecile,” mutters Leviathan distractedly. “Ready?”

“He means knives,” Tim mentions to Roy on the side after catching his look.

Then Nightwing hums an affirmative and Leviathan reaches over to the gag, cutting it away.

At first, all Zack does is make a face, mouth working to get rid of the stiffness and texture. His eyes shut as he takes a steading breath, then clearly mouths one word.

To Cassie, it looks like complete gibberish and Roy honestly looks just as thrown. But the rest of them?

The rest of them freeze at the word.

“Barbados is _fake_ ,” says Tim incredulously.

Levithan snarls and leans forwards, grabbing Zack’s jaw with an iron grip. “Where did you hear that word.”

“Damian, let me—”

“Okay but _Barbados isn’t real._ ”

Roy’s starting to look hesitant but also _really_ worried. “Tim?”

“Bruce made him up! It’s a fake god that never actually existed that he _made up_.” Tim’s voice is starting to get a slightly hysterical edge to it as he throws up his arms in exasperation, “in a retroactively altered timeline from another universe, mind you!”

“Hm,” Nightwing tilts his head to the side before giving Zack a cheery smile. “Don’t make me regret this,” he chides as he releases his grip and pulls his hand back from Zack’s neck then slices through the ropes binding him with a knife Cassie hadn’t even seen him palm.

With a cough, Zack runs a hand over his throat and sighs before sliding up. “Look I—” His voice wavers and he looks so on edge (definitely at least a little from how Nightwing is absentmindedly brushing off bits of rope and fabric and straightening his clothes, then ruffling Zack’s hair softly before gently finger-combing it into the style he usually wears), but he still squares his shoulders and presses on. “We need to regroup, we need to talk.” He seems shaken. “This entire thing, this mess—somewhere else, later, _not here_ —we need to sit and _talk_.”

For the first time, Nightwing looks as threatening as a Talon should. “You know something.”

“Me’n Traci and Alice, we—”

“Please tell me you didn’t do something stupid with Traci 13 and Black Alice,” Tim groans, “my heart might not be able to handle that level of potential multiversal carnage.”

Leviathan closes his eyes and Cassie swears she sees him count to ten.

“Maybe not stupid but we were _desperate_. Look, I know we fucked up and I swear I can explain but…”

Nightwing leans over, peering at Zach as he balances on the balls of his feet. “I’ll come and find you later, if you want.” He watches Zack’s wince, because _yeah_ the thought of a _Talon_ coming to find you, and grins ruefully. “Maybe we can send Red Robin with backup instead.”

“God knows you will need to stay with Father to insist on actual medical treatment.”

And Leviathan calling Wayne _Father?_ Still seriously throwing Cassie for a loop.

“Speaking of…” Nightwing taps a finger on his chin before sliding a look at Tim, who cringes.

“Okay, this is _so_ not the priority right now—”

“Nuh-uh. Spill, Timmy.”

“I’m…” Tim frowns, hand coming up to cover his mouth as he thinks back, “I’m not quite sure…? No, I don’t _think_ I took any hits.”  

“Timmmmmm,” whines Nightwing.

“Look, I swear, just bruised wrists from the construct!”

“Right,” Leviathan snorts. “As per usual, you are completely incapable of properly monitoring your own health.”

“Damian? Shut the fuck up.”

“At least your medical stuff will be easier to handle over here,” sighs Nightwing.

Silence.

Nightwing nudges him, “right, Tim?”

Tim just narrows his eyes at Leviathan, who is studiously refusing to meet his gaze.

“…Seriously?” asks Nightwing weakly.

“Why did you have to cut out his spleen in the first place!?” Tim bursts out. “You know how much medication and shit I have to deal with!”

“It was my first day here!” Leviathan snaps back, “I didn’t understand what was going on, needed to go for a non-lethal incapacitating strike when you attacked _me_ Drake, _thank you very much_ , and I didn’t think you still had one to lose to begin with!”

Nightwing groans. “Damian…”

“I was highly confused and Grandfather set me an ultimatum! Asking me to kill him is preferable to the highly unsettling, flirtatious manner he’s been using to address Drake recently, but that does _not_ mean it wasn’t still awful.”

“Why did you have to bring that up—”

“Ra’s al Ghul’s been flirting with you?” Roy looks like he wants to cry a lot and Cassie doesn’t blame him.

“I really don’t wanna talk about it.”

“The tone of voice he uses when he calls you ‘detective’ makes me want to carve out my eardrums, Drake.”

“How do you think it makes me feel?”

Nightwing pouts, actually fucking pouts, at this. “Well it makes me feel pretty homicidal, he needs to step off or I swear to god—”

“Can we just—can we please stop talking about this,” Tim groans into his hands.

“It’s not going to stop if you just ignore it, my grandfather is a persistent man.”

“ _Please._ ”

“Are you trying to enact that ridiculous theory again?” And then Leviathan’s voice shifts until he sounds just like Tim, “if I just believe in it hard enough, I can make it happen!”

“You little shit,” Tim hisses, “you know I fucking hate it when you do that.”

“Why are you _arguing_ with yourself, Drake? You sound like a madman.” And, oh jeez, it really does sound like Tim when he’s in one of those pro/con debates with himself. They’re both up in each other’s space, Tim glaring as Leviathan snarls lightly, and they’re bickering over trivial nonsense like _children_.

Then Nightwing leans in with a chuckle, putting a hand on each of their heads to ruffle their hair and…clonks their foreheads together. Tim whines a bit and Leviathan hisses under his breath, but Nightwing just laughs, slinging an arm over each them and tucking them up against him. He takes a deep breath before letting out an exaggeratedly satisfied sigh. “Ahhh, the fresh scent of sibling rivalry in the morning.” His grin widens as Tim and Leviathan both groan.

“So…” Zack asks, looking both tentative and mildly weirded out, “you guys…don’t wanna ask me anything else?”

“Nah,” Nightwing finger guns at him. “Magic shindig, mostly your fault. We know enough to start and, c’mon, we’re kinda in the middle of somethin’ here! Just sit-rep with Red later and we can go from there, yeah?” And then he giggles. Cassie decides there and then that she never wants to see a Talon giggle ever again.

“Yeah…” Zack rubs the back of his neck and peers at Nightwing and Cassie's sixth sense is tingling again because she just _knows_ the next thing to come of of his mouth is gonna be _stupid as hell—_

“You know, no one ever talks about Talon being this pretty.”

Tim facepalms _spectacularly_ as Leviathan fakes gagging and Nightwing _preens._ In that moment, Cassie hates them all— _especially because he’s right._

“Officially voted Best Ass in Spandex for five years running.” He sounds _so proud._

“Look…” Kon starts weakly, announcing his return to consciousness in the worst way possible, “truth? I’d tap that.”

“Oh my god,” Tim moans in despair, “we’re in an alternate universe and I still can’t get away from you guys talking about how hot my brother is.” Which, by the way, still makes no sense to Cassie whatsoever. As soon as this is over, Zack has some fucking _talking_ to do.

“Dunno, Timbo. I think I make a _much_ sexier zombie than Jason does.”

Tim throws an earpiece at him and Nightwing lets it bounce off his forehead with a sunny smile. “Ugh, Oracle is gonna lose her mind when she hears about this.”

Nightwing is instantly on him, hands clamping down on Tim’s shoulders. _“Babs is here?”_ he half demands, voice ominously gleeful.

“Um, fuck,” Tim hisses under his breath. “I—sorta? Maybe? Her counterpart is at least. But…I think she might be the mole? I don’t—”

“Wha—!?” starts Roy indignantly, but Nightwing just slaps a hand over his mouth without even turning, attention still laser focused on Tim.

“Yeah, maybe,” Tim hedges, choosing his words carefully. “I really don’t know, I don’t have the context to know if it’s _her-_ her. It might be that she wasn’t expecting something like us, or that we’d know her this well, or if it’s _her_ and she’s tipping her hand, but she…she might’ve slipped up a few times?”

“-tt-” Leviathan scoffs, “Gordon doesn’t _make_ mistakes.”

Nightwing’s grin turns maniacal as Tim scoots back, looking slightly panicked. “Um…”

Then Tim jumps as one of his communicators chirps. “Oh thank god,” he mutters under his breath, scrambling for it.

 _«Yo, we flew the coop»_ calls a female voice, _«I repeat, the eagle has landed»_

“All hail the mighty Spoiler,” Tim answers back with what might be reverent relief.

_«You know it, ex-boytoy wonder. Got the double Ds there?»_

“Steph!” Tim squeaks indignantly, turning bright red as Leviathan starts to laugh.

“Fatgirl, you should see his _face_.”

“Hey BG,” Nightwing grins, reaching over Tim to pluck the comm out of his hands, “we clear?”

_«Just touched down, you can flip the sensors whenever you’re ready to make your own daring escape»_

“Got it,” Tim sighs, “we’ll—”

 _«Try not to get mauled by Diana!»_ someone shouts from the other side.

“No one _asked you_ , Tod—”

“She made me pancakes last weekend,” Tim cuts in all of a sudden, face blank.

_«…What did you say, Replacement?»_

“You heard me. Wonder Woman. Cooked. Me. Breakfast. And it was amazing.”

 _«Mother_ fucker, _you wanna go?»_

“Suck it, Hood—”

Nightwing puts Tim in a casual headlock, holding the communicator as far as he can in the other direction just as the static of a scuffle filters through.

_«Ugh, you reds, I swear»_

“They’ll be the death of us,” Nightwing sighs theatrically.

Cassie can’t help her disgusted look. “You guys are such a pack of freaky losers.”

“Whaaat? Aw Cassie,” Nightwing flutters his eyelashes at her, ignoring the enraged noise that tries to crawl out of her throat, “you’re killing me here.”

“Scandalous,” Leviathan says sarcastically under his breath. “And it’s ‘clan,’ thank you very much.”

“Dude I thought it was a ‘colony.’”

“Did I fucking stutter, Kent.”

 _“—Killing_ me.”

Tim just pulls a face. “Nightwing, you’re already kinda too dead to talk.”

Nightwing rolls his eyes. “Ugh, Timmy—”

 _«You are currently considered medically deceased»_ a new, strained voice adds.

“Nobody has a _fucking sense of humor anymore,”_ Nightwing hisses under his breath before glaring at the communicator pointedly. “Fuck you Bruce, I gave all your money to Selena while you were busy dying in the sewers, or whatever.”

_«Di—»_

Nightwing jams the disconnect button on the device then throws it over his shoulder for Tim to fumble with. “Moving on.”

Tim makes a face as he stows the comm. “They’re gonna reset the system to clear our spikes and by then anyone with sense will’ve probably blocked my permissions, but their zetas still have that local verification bug so we can feed it a false acknowledgement to get through.”

Nightwing nods. “The wipe clears the cache for previous destinations and we’ll ping a bunch of decoys then scatter.”

Leviathan stands, giving all his gear a quick check and leveling a flat look at Tim and Nightwing. “Well? I would rather avoid having to maim anyone on our way out.”

“Oh boy. And on that rather horrific note,” starts Tim, dryly.

“We depart!” Nightwing finishes with a flourish.

Nightwing—Talon, _The Gray Son of Gotham_ —winks and blows them a fucking kiss on the way out.

What the hell.

 

**Author's Note:**

> next up: Dick’s set up to haul ass to the fortress, while Tim and Damian’ll swing by STAR labs before meeting back up with young justice for DEETS.
> 
> …theoretically, anyway. this is basically all of what I’ve got for sticking my fingers in livie’s fic, just a stray thought I could help but write lol. sorry if this entire thing doesn't make sense?
> 
> I’m actually not a huge fan of the entire court of owls arc ‘cause it’s super emo, fucks hardcore with Dick’s backstory, and won’t go away—but talon stuff can be fun to play with? and if the court was in play and Bruce _wasn’t_ there…  
>   
> yeah, I’ll admit to just wanting to scare the shit out of the league with a cheery sunshine talon and make a bunch of jokes, WHOOPS.
> 
> the corpse jokes specifically were v fun, I’m apparently better at them than death jokes too. most of them are in the last part, but I snuck one into Diana’s section so if you missed it maybe go back and take a look it’s…good…def my fave…


End file.
